In the saddle
Once I’m on board my trusty black steed Saracen — a Racewood dressage simulator — off we go in a steady walk.
“How’s your body feeling in this movement?” asks Alysen. “It’s important not to analyse yourself as that takes you into a different part of your brain. What are you feeling as you’re walking?”
I’m aware of a gentle movement in my pelvis to the left and right — my shoulders are moving too, but mainly it’s the feeling of my pelvis moving. Alysen explains that this is our base line which we’re going to compare everything to. This is for your nervous system to record what’s happening, and so when you have some changes this is what you’re comparing them to.
Bring on the balls
Now it’s time to start using the Franklin balls. There are different sizes and textures — some are soft and squidgy, while others are firmer — and you can alter the inflation of the air-filled balls depending on your individual needs. What you’re concentrating on when you use the balls is proprioception — your awareness of your body’s position and movement.
The balls are used in different areas of the body, for example, under the pelvis, inside your thigh and under your arms.
Focusing on the pelvis
We start with the softest, squishiest balls and these are good enough for you to feel better proprioception. As you learn more, you’ll move on to different ones — the more pressure you have, the stronger the effect will be, but you don’t want to go for too much too soon. As we’re focusing on the pelvis, two balls are placed side by side underneath my bottom, on the deepest part of the saddle.
As I sit on them, it instantly makes me more aware of where my seat bones are. Saracen the simulator goes into walk for a few minutes and then the balls are removed. I now have a completely different feeling — I’m sitting deeper in the saddle and I’m more aware of my seat bones being in contact with the seat. We swap the balls for a mini-roller. This is a slightly different shaped ball, and again
I sit on it in the deepest part of the saddle. “You want to feel relatively balanced from one seat bone to the other,” says Alysen.
“It’s important not to let the roller take you
“Often what we’re searching for isn’t necessarily what you’re feeling with the ball there — it’s the after-effect”
into a hollow back or rounded back position. Make sure you maintain your posture.” I focus on how the roller feels under my pelvis and can sense more pressure on my right side. Alysen tells me to focus on the left and even it up by giving that side more pressure. After about five minutes in walk we come back to halt and the mini-roller is removed. I sit back down and notice the feeling. This different-shaped ball gives me even more awareness of each of my seat bones.
“Often what we’re searching for isn’t necessarily what you’re feeling with the ball there — it’s the after-effect,” says Alysen. When you get better awareness in one part of your body it improves your flexibility in other areas too. So you might do something for your shoulder and find that your hip and hamstring feel better on that side. It’s not just limited to where you place the balls.
This is about the nervous system and getting that coordination and communication going.
Picture this
Moving on to using some imagery, Alysen reminds me of the feeling I had during the floor exercises of my seat bones moving apart. In the saddle the situation’s slightly different as your seat bones now move from side to side in time with the movement of your horse. “Try to picture this movement happening internally,” says Alysen. “Imagine it like a swing, or a pendulum swinging out, out, out.” When you combine the use of the Franklin balls with the use of imagery, the method becomes even more effective, rather than just using one or the other on its own.
The whole experience has made me think of my position in a new way. I’ve continued to use the balls riding a real horse and the effect is just as good, if not better. The change in my horse’s way of going is amazing. With my increased feeling and awareness, she’s moving with more willingness and freedom too.